Chris Antonetti didn't just trade Francisco Lindor this past off-season, he cut the heart out of the team. I'm not saying that Antonetti shouldn't have traded Lindor, I'm saying he didn't get enough for Lindor and Carasco combined.
If everything goes perfect for the 2021 Cleveland Baseball Team, the team's ceiling is .500. That's if there's no injuries and all these 25 and under, unproven players ALL step up.
After LeBron James left the Cavs (the first time), sportswriters across Cleveland predicted the Cavs would go .500 "because there's still talent on this team." The Cavs went from a 60 win team (in 2010) to a 20 win team (in 2011). Am I comparing Frankie Lindor to LeBron James? Kind of. Lindor was the leader of the Indians when they went to the MLB playoffs 4 of the past 5 years.
And, on top of that, teams last in payroll don't win in Major League Baseball. They just don't. Yet Cleveland sportswriters are again banging the "we won't be that bad this year" drum.
Oh, there's lots of losing on the way for a team that made it to the Wild Card Series just last year.